Providing quality clothing to men with a sense of style and direction.

Tag Archives: Menswear

To us Europeans, there is something intriguing and beguiling about Japan, its people and their customs. The ability to apply focus to one specific area has led to some incredible craftsmanship and unrivalled attention to detail. This pursuit of excellence has meant huge leaps forward in technology and industry but, on the flip side, it has resulted in bizarre creations such as the Lonely Man Pillow.

Another area where the Japanese excel is clothing and two of the most recent labels to arrive in store, orSlow and Nanamica, are perfect examples of this. Both have different styles and ways of approaching design, but at the root of each brand is a commitment to quality and heritage. Below we have picked out some of our favourite pieces of the season and styled them for looks that we think represent modern Japanese style at its best.

Designer Ichiro Nakatsu is one serious denim hoarder with his collection featuring incredibly rare and vintage pieces from America, Europe and Japan. The influences from this collection really show in the clothing, especially in the denim and legwear. The vintage shapes of Levi’s can be seen but with an ever so slight modern twist. Add to this impeccable fabric quality and you have denim suitable for even the most discerning of selvedge connoisseurs.

Nanamica, Edwin, Porter Yoshida and Buzz Rickson’s

When it comes to Japanese style, it would be hard to ignore the clothing and accessories of fellow compatriots Porter, Nanamica, Buzz Rickson’s and Edwin. With these three brands quality in construction and material choice is what really sets them apart from the crowd.

Porter bags are durable, robust and have an undeniable look. The jackets and coats from Nanamica take classic shapes and cuts and rework them with modern materials and fabrics. Buzz Rickson’s are a label obsessed with the US military and recreate some of the most iconic styles from the past 70 years. Edwin’s jeans uses all the best elements of iconic Levi’s and Lee models and elevates them to new levels thanks to the premium denim that has been crafted on vintage looms.

Another Shirt Please is one of our favourite labels at the moment and their straightforward approach to clothing is something we hugely admire. Their take on the most quintessential of menswear items, the humble shirt, has been elevated to new levels through the use of fabric, a wide array of cuts and attention to detail. We thought it high time to catch up with the guys behind the brand and talk about inspiration, the future and, of course, shirts.

Peggs & son: We have to ask the question that you have probably answered many times before. Why did you choose to focus on shirts?

Oskar and Carl: We had trouble finding shirts that we really liked especially when it came to the fabrics. It felt like most brands out there just made shirts to fill out the collection focusing on other stuff like shoes, tailoring and jeans. So, we had to make that shirt who got the respect it deserved ourselves. We also love shirts, so it became very natural in a way.

P&s: Where does the inspiration come from with regards to cuts, materials and features? Favourite shirts you own, vintage styles or something else entirely?

C: One of the first things we said when we started A.S.P was that we would never compromise when it came to fabrics and manufacture. We always do shirts that we, ourselves, will wear with pride. At the moment we have three styles and each style is the perfect fit for each one of us (we were three friends who started A.S.P). Of course we are inspired by our old favourite shirts. And life in general.

P&s: How do you go about sourcing your materials?

O: We never really make up our minds before we sit down with all the fabrics we sourced from our favourite mills. We put everything on the floor, put on some great music and just let it happen.

P&s: The 102 style is a fairly unusual design and not something you see in modern menswear too often. How did the concept for a loose fitting shirt with formal features come about?

C: This is Oskar’s favourite style so I’ll let him explain this one.

O: I always spend a couple of weeks in the north of Sweden at my families country cabin, hanging out with mosquitos and fly fishing. A few years ago I found my fathers old oversized red shirt collecting dust in a box. I loved it and started wearing it all the time. People started asking where I got the shirt and as nothing similar was around we used it as inspiration and it became style 102 for A.S.P.

P&s: Do you plan to add any more styles to your collections in the future?

O: There is a lot going on at the moment. The new collection is out, we updated our web shop and we are due to open our first store in Stockholm next to our dear friends at the Swedish bag maker Sandqvist. We are also working on the new collection and one of us is also searching for love. Busy times.

P&s: Busy times indeed. Would you consider doing collaborations in the future? Are there any in the pipeline?

O: The first colab we did was with the garment care company TGC which just been released. A detergent named “Gin & Tonic” scented with juniper oil. It was so much fun that we are already working on doing some new ones.

P&s: We suppose with a name like Another Shirt Please it would be difficult, but have you considered widening the output of your label to include different garments?

C: We don’t really find it difficult if we would like to add something other than a shirt to our collection. We are already doing it. Just wait and see.

P&s: Intriguing, we look forward to seeing that. You used to work at Acne, how do they feel about A.S.P, are they supportive of what you do?

O & C: That’s correct. All three of us are former employes of Acne. We still have friends there who are supportive but we don’t really have any communication with Acne as a company.

P&s: Finally, do you have a favourite shirt of this new collection (ours would be the 101 Secret Garden Grey)?

C: Great choice! That hand feel is just amazing. We all have different favourites, as you can imagine reading the above. Oskar’s is 102 Oskar. Duh. The red colour is almost exactly the same as the dusty old piece mentioned earlier. Anders has a very soft spot for 101 Oxford being the “crazy” economic guy in our company. My favourite is 201 Cool Cat. For me it is the best shirt we have ever made.

Many thanks to Carl, Oskar and Anders from Another Shirt Please for giving us the time to carry out this interview. To shop the whole A.S.P. collection, please head on over to our online store.

A.P.C. was launched in 1988 by designer Jean Touitou and stands for Atelier de Production et de Crèation (“The creation and production of clothing”). A.P.C. is famed for their particular brand of understated cool. Using a blend of high quality fabrics, subtle styling and over 25 years of design experience they have been able to piece together some genuine modern classics.

This season we have selectively chosen a range of products from A.P.C.’s extensive SS12 catalogue, these include a mix of shirting including modern and classic cuts, summer weight chinos, rucksacks, fine gauge 100% wool crew neck knits, a range of individually styled t-shirts and of course a couple of their denim shapes made from some of the finest Japanese Selvage denim.

The collection is available online here now, but if you find yourself down in Brighton this summer drop into the store and see the collection first hand.

Folk was established in 2001 by Scottish designer Cathal McAteer who had a vision to create simple everyday clothing with subtle, innovative and sometimes playful detailing. The small independent contemporary brand started off only stocking in Japan until 2007 when they opened their first store in London.

We have been stocking Folk here at Peggs & son for a number of years now and season after season they never fail to impress us with their – ‘Classics with a twist’ approach they incorporate into each piece.